Various circumstances require repair of plastic, i.e., polyethylene piping. Repair or connection can be affected by applying an adhesive or composite directly to the crack in the pipe. Alternatively, a multipart sleeve can be placed over the defect or pipe connection and sealed about it. Still another alternative when a pipe is damaged is to cut out the damaged area and replace it with a new section of piping. Yet another alternative is to “spot weld” the plastic piping together as is known in the art.
The afore-mentioned methods have some disadvantages. For example, application of an adhesive or composite to a crack tends to not provide a uniform seal. Also, the application may involve a “cure” time in which pressure exerted within the pipe may force the material out of the crack.
With regard to application of a multipart sleeve to the damaged area, this may often involve significant labor to excavate the area about the pipe so that the sleeve can be placed around the damaged area.
Cutting of the pipe to undertake repairs is often not desirable, especially when the pipe contains a liquid, such as oil or water, or a flammable gas. The operator would need to shut off the liquid or gas and purge the pipe to avoid contamination of the liquid or risk a gas explosion. This is generally not acceptable for most applications. Additionally, as mentioned above, excavation about the section to be replaced would be required. This can prove to be quite costly, both in terms of time as well as other financial resources.
Welding, including spot welding, can also be problematic. If the pipe contains or contained a flammable substance, the arc, spark, open flame and/or relatively high temperatures typically involved in welding could ignite the material. Again, excavation about a large area might be required to access the repair site and can be costly.
Thus, there exists a need to provide an improved system and method to repair plastic piping.